The Red and the Black
Stendhal1830Stendhal more or less invented the modern psychological novel here, a book driven by what a character thinks and wants instead of what happens to him.
Read this if you…
- want the first awesome psychological novel (you're in his head)
- love some love interests that are messy
- love an ambitious social climber as a protagonist
Skip this if you…
- have an instinctual aversion to anything French
Why It Matters
Stendhal more or less invented the modern psychological novel here, a book driven by what a character thinks and wants instead of what happens to him. Julien Sorel is the prototype for every ambitious young man pushing against a class system rigged against him. The way it dissects ambition and self-deception still feels uncomfortably current.
The 
Take
Thought it was great, awesome depiction of the ambitious sorel with his 2 love interests. Liked the ending too, loved the abrupt climax , no ruminating. The push and pull throughout the book was great
The lineage through The Red and the Black
- Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The Red and the Black built on it. - To understand Julien Sorel, read the book Julien reads: Rousseau's *Confessions* is the one volume that shapes his imagination, his pride, even his love affair - Stendhal names it outright — Julien's "horror of eating with the servants" is lifted from Rousseau, his entire sense of wounded merit borrowed from it - *The Red and the Black* is in part a study of what the *Confessions* did to the young men who took it as scripture
Depicted in Art
Julien Sorel observes Madame de Rênal and Élisa the chambermaid in the moment the chambermaid discovers their affair.
Henri-Joseph Dubouchet, 1884
Etched plate from the 1884 Conquet illustrated edition depicting a scene from the novel.
Henri-Joseph Dubouchet, 1884
Etched plate from the 1884 Conquet illustrated edition depicting a scene from the novel.
Henri-Joseph Dubouchet, 1884
Title page from the 1831 Levavasseur edition of Stendhal's novel, second volume.
1831
Etched plate from the 1884 Conquet illustrated edition depicting a scene from the novel.
Henri-Joseph Dubouchet, 1884
Recommended Editions
Burton Raffel
Modern Library · 2004
Raffel's English is plain and quick, which fits Stendhal's flat ironic narrator. The Modern Library intro is good on the airless post-Napoleonic France Julien is trying to climb.
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Deep Dive
What It's About
This summary gives away plot details.
Notable Quotes
“A novel is a mirror carried along a high road.”
“A novel is a mirror carried along a high road. At one moment it reflects to your vision the azure skies, at another the mire of the puddles at your feet.”